Devotionals

Under the new covenant, baptism signifies and seals our separation from the world unto the Lord (Col. 2:8–15). Like circumcision, baptism is not faith or justification, but it points beyond itself to justification for those who believe. Moreover, like circumcision, ...Read More

We will look more at church discipline in the days ahead. As we close our study today, let us be reminded that coming into the Lord’s presence without repentance is dangerous indeed. It is particularly risky when we claim to ...Read More

Self-examination of one’s soul before partaking of the Lord’s Supper involves determining whether or not one is a Christian. We are to consider whether we are trusting in Christ alone for salvation, and we are to repent for the unbelief ...Read More

In ourselves, we are all unworthy to approach the throne of grace because of our sin. To say we are worthy of taking the Lord’s Supper is not to deny this fundamental reality; rather, it is to embrace it. For ...Read More

Transubstantiation confuses the divine and human natures of Jesus, giving His human body the ability to be in more than one place at a time. This is an attribute that only the divine nature possesses. In confusing Christ’s two natures, ...Read More

Because we are united to Christ, the wrath that we deserve was meted out by the Father on His Son at Calvary. Our sin was judged, and the condemnation we earned for having transgressed God’s law was borne by our ...Read More

Although Christ is not advocating the view of transubstantiation, He is saying something true when He refers to His body as our bread and His blood as our drink. As noted in Calvin’s comments above, there is a real spiritual ...Read More

Speaking sacramentally, we refer to the bread as the body of Christ and the wine as His blood in order to proclaim that He is truly present when we sit at His table. Ours is a supernatural faith, and we ...Read More

Question and answer 168 of the Westminster Larger Catechism expand upon the benefits we receive by the Spirit in the Lord’s Supper. We are enabled to renew our thankfulness to God for all that He has done for us. We ...Read More

We are not advocating the Roman Catholic view of transubstantiation or the Lutheran view of consubstantiation when we affirm the true presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. As we will see, we simply mean that we meet with the ...Read More